Folding bed



UNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

THOMAS L. ODELL, OF IOWA FALLS,,IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE W.STRAIGHT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FOLDING BED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,023, dated February1, 1887.

Application filed September 28, 1885. Serial No. 178,338.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. ODELL, of Iowa Falls, in the county ofHardin and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Folding Beds; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

The nature and objects of my improvements will fully appear from thefollowing description and the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central vertical section, from front torear, of a bed and its case containing my improvements and closed. Fig.2 isa frontview of the case with its doors open, revealing the bed in araised position therein. Fig. 3 is a view in the same section as Fig. 1,showing the bed in full lines as lowered before being drawn out and indotted lines as fully extended. Fig. 4 is a detail in rear view of thecase,showing the weight,when employed, together with a spring forupholding the weight. Fig. 5 isa modification of one of the details.

A is the case,which is of the upright order, and, as shown, is of aheight to receive the bed-frame at full length.

B is the bed-frame, upon which, preferably, a woven-wire fabric, 0, isstretched for the yielding support of the bedding. The bedframe Biscomposed of side rails, B, joined at their ends by cross-rails B towhich cross or. end rails the fabric Cis secured under suitable andcontinuous tension.

, DD are inwardly-projecting pins fixed to the opposite upright sidepieces, A,of the case A, near the front edges of said uprights, or tothe adjacent cross-bar a of the case, and upon these pins the bed-frameB tilts. The bedframe is preferably so pivoted on these pins D as to beremovable at pleasure, either to facilitate moving, to give access toall parts of the structure, or to permit the case alone to be usedexclusively as a wardrobe; and the bedframe may be employed as awoven-wire mattress in an ordinary bedstead, if desired. To

this end the side rails of the bed-frame rest on (No model.)

the pins D, being provided with notches or shoulders at b, by which theframe may be tilted into an upright position without disengagement fromthe said pins D.

In order to bring the pivotal points as far as possible from the head ofthe bed-frame (and 5 to serve other purposes of the device) the case Ais made deep-say eighteen ortwentyinches from front to backand thenotches or shoulders b are so located on the side rails that the head ofthe bed will barely clear the back of the case in the raising andlowering of the bedframe; but this construction would naturally bringthe heads of the occupants within the case,which would be objectionable,wherefore I provide that the bed-frame, after being lowered to ahorizontal position, may be drawn bodily outward on the pins to anydesired distance-say six to ten inchesand thus bring the heads of thesleepers forward or out of the case. The pins I) must obviously beplaced 7c as high from the bottom of the case as the shoulders b arefrom the end or head of the bed-frame,to allow the bed to swing up intoan upright position. This distance, added to the depth of the bed-framerails and mattress and bedding placed thereon, will commonly be thoughtto bring the upper surface of the bed too high, and I therefore, if thisbe the fact, provide for lowering the bed-frame in the act of drawing itforward horizontally on the pins, by making the ways for the pinsinclined, as shown at b.

I prefer to make the side rails,B, about five or six inches deep, and tocut a long and deep notch, B in each of said rails, having theupwardly-inclined bottom b, on which the pins D may slide or roll. Theouter end walls, Z), of these notches then form stops, limiting theoutward movement of the bed-frame, and the depending parts If, being inline with the lower 0 edge of the side rails, may aid in the levelsupport of the bed-frame when the latter is placed in an ordinarybedstead, as above suggested.

It wilhbe understood, however, that this is not essential to myinvention, as other stops 5 may obviouslybe provided. When the slidingsurfaces 12 are inclined as and for the purpose set forth, the foldingfoot-legs E will of course be made of proper length to support the footof the bed-frame level with the head when lowered and drawn out fully.

To the outside of the side rails at the head of the bed-frame B arepivoted arms B, to which is attached a head-board, B \Vhen the bed isdrawn forward on the pins D this headboard falls or may be pushed backagainst the back of the case A, and thus properly close the space thatwould otherwise be produced by this movement of the bed-frame. Then thelatter is pushed inward and raised this headboard is of courseautomatically folded inward upon the bedding.

The head of the bed-frameLmay, for the general purposes of the bed, asso far described, be weighted in any convenient or suitable manner, asheretofore frequently done in various forms of tilting beds; or it maybe used without aeounter-weight. I prefer a particular construction forsuch weight, if one is desired, which is peculiar, in being attached tothe foot of the bed-frame, so as to act with greater leverage, and whichmay therefore be much lighter than would be sufficient to perfectly orproximately balance the bed if attached to the head.

F is the weight referred to. It is preferably a thin and broad plate ofiron, arranged in guidesff on the outside and at the back of the case A.F is a cord attached to the weight, thence trained over a pulley, f,located in or opposite ahole,f", at the top and middle of the case, andprovided with a loop or with a hook or eye, f, by which it may bedetachably engaged with the foot-rail or footboard of the frame B,having an eye or hook, I), applied thereto at its middle point.

G is a spring of wood or metal, fastened to the back of the case A, andadapted to throw out beneath and to thereby uphold theweight F when thelatter is sufficiently raised.

The weight F may be provided with a central vertical groove, of thethickness of the spring, through which the latter may pass whendepressed; or the spring maybe let into the back of the case, as shown,in order that the whole may occupy as little space as possible betweenthe case and the wall.

The cord F should, desirably, be of such length as to fall short oflifting the weight entirely above the spring G when attached to thefoot-board and the bed is lowered, but not drawn out upon the pins D, asindicated in full lines of Fig. 3. Then by seizing the cord over the bedand deflecting it the weight may be raised enough farther to let thespring fly out beneath it, after which the cord may be detached from thefoot-board and the bed drawn out. Then it is desired to raise the bed,it will first be pushed inward upon the pins D, and the cord will beagain attached to the footboard. The weight will be again lifted bydeflecting the cord with one hand, while with the other the spring willbe drawn inward clear of the weight by means of a button, g, whichprotrudes through the back of the case,

after which the weight will be lowered over the end of the spring byreleasing the cord. The foot of the bed may then be easily raised withthe aid of the counter-weight. The weight in falling to the floor or toa suitable stop therefor will cease to act on the bed after the latterhas reached a nearly perpendicular position; but beyond this pointit isnot needed in lifting the bed, and it may advantageously not act throughthe first part of the movement of the bed-frame when the latter is to belowered.

Hinged to the front edges of the side uprights, A, of the case are doorsAF, by which the front of the case may be closed. To these may beapplied clothes-hooks a a, at points opposite the space between the siderails of the raised bed-frame, the said space, in the use of awoven-wire or other fabric applied as shown to the frame B, affording arecess several inches deep between the same and the doors, in whichgarments may be hung from said hooks. Thus the structure forms both awardrobe and a bed. Ample room for the bedding and to permit its properventilation is provided in the space between the fabric 0 and the backof the case A. To give desired breadth of base to the ease the latter isextended forward at H, forming a receptacle, preferably distinct fromthe interior of the case A, and closed by a lid, 71.

At 1) in Fig. 5 the shoulder which affords a bearing for the pin or redD is formed by the application of a metal piece, I), to the lowersurface of the side rail.

I am aware that it has been proposed heretofore to employ in a foldingbed a counterbalance-weight attached to a rope passing over a pulley inthe top of the bed and connected with the folding bed-frame, and I donot therefore broadly claim such weight and rope.

I am aware, also, that it has been proposed to construct a foldingbed-frame and case therefor in such manner that space is affordedbetween the bed f'rame and the doors of the case, when the frame isfolded, for'garments hung upon the doors. In such prior construction,however, parts of the bed-frame have occupied the space between the sideand end rails thereof, so that it has been necessary to set the entireframe some distance inwardly from the front of the case in order toobtain the necessary space for clothing. I11 the construction employedby me, on the contrary, the space between the side rails of the frame isleft vacant to form the space for clothing, whereby the lower or outeredges of the frame, when the latter is folded, may be located close tothe front of the case, so that the desired space for clothing may beobtained without materially increasing the size of the case for thispurpose.

I claim as my invention--- 1. The combination, with an inclosing-caseprovided with doors, as shown, of a tilting bed-frame, consisting ofside and end pieces and having a fabric for the support of the beddingattached at the upper side of said frame,

. whereby an open space or chamber is formed within the frame andbetween the fabric and the doors for garments suspended from said doors,substantially as described. I

2. The combination, with an inclosing-case and a bed-frame pivoted nearthehead thereon, of a weight suspended from a cord which is trained overa pulley at or near the top of the case and detachably connected withthe foot of the bed, and means for sustaining the weight when elevatedindependently'of the connection of the cord with the foot of the bed,substantially as described.

3. The combination,with an inclosing-case and a bed-frame pivotedthereon, of an exterr 5 nal weight connected by a cord with thebedframe, guides for the weight on the outside of the case, a spring,also exterior to the case, for engaging and supporting the weight, andmeans for operating the spring from the interior 0f 20 the case,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence

